Toddler Stair Safety System

ABSTRACT

A heavy net is used with an optimally sized mesh that provides an easy gripping surface for the toddler&#39;s hands with no choking or entrapment hazards. A net is fastened to an existing banister by the use of hook and loop fasteners.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/519,678, filed on Sep. 12, 2006, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/674,216, filed on Sep. 30, 2003, abandoned, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/498,956, filed Aug. 30, 2003, the full disclosures of each being incorporated by reference in their entirety.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Each year about 3 million children in the United States alone visit emergency room departments for fall-related injuries. A major cause is falling down stairs. These falls result in more open wounds, fractures and brain injuries than all other accidents of children. Nearly one hundred children under the age of 9 die per year from falls. A major problem is going up and down stairs for toddlers. These are infants between 18 months and 4 years of age. They are old enough to be able to crawl up stairs, but not typically tall enough to be able to use the adult-height banister.

The solutions suggested to date have basically involved a lower height stair rail. For example, Roberts (U.S. Pat. No. 3,005,242) teaches a secondary railing that hangs below the primary railing. Ruhnke (U.S. Pat. No. 3,269,553) teaches the use of adjustable shelf-type hangars to adjust the height of the railing. Turner (U.S. Pat. No. 4,556,201) teaches a secondary handrail for toddlers as does Jaworski (U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,528) and Koza (U.S. Pat. No. 4,853,166) and finally Sedlack (U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,854).

Hartman (U.S. Pat. No. 4,030,255) teaches a double rail telescoping system. Stevens (U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,100) teaches a special hand railing for toddlers. Another approach is the use of an adjustable railing system. This is taught by Rezek (U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,433), Toomey (U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,194) and finally Marsden (U.S. Pat. No. 5,657,968). An interesting solution is that of Flory (U.S. Pat. No. 6,345,475) who basically teaches an obstacle course of gates on alternate sides of the stairway to prevent people from falling more than a few feet if they do stumble.

For completion one should mention some of the solutions for another safety problem. This problem involves children falling through the balusters in open stairways. This includes a panel of screens as taught by Langan (U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,194), the Railnet product (attached literature) Plexiglas sheets as taught by Bodzin (U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,545), and finally Dandrea (U.S. Pat. No. 5,533,715) which weaves rigid fabric in and out of the balusters to form a barrier for the toddlers.

Thus in spite of the need for a simple safety system to allow toddlers to more safely go up and down stairs, none exist. The ideal system would be something that can be packed in a small box for easy retail sale and transport to a home, can be installed without the use of any tools, and leave no permanent marks on the home in any way. In spite of the need for such a product none has existed to date.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The major object of this invention is the use of a heavy net with an optimally sized mesh that provides an easy gripping surface for a toddler hands with no choking or entrapment hazards. A further object of this invention is to provide a method of providing tension securement to a carpeted surface by the use of deep-machined hook surfaces.

Another object of this invention is to teach the use of fastening a net to an existing banister by the use of hook and loop fasteners. Another object of this invention is to teach the manufacture of a carpeted stair gripper, which allows objects to be attached, and custom fitted, to the edges of carpeted stair steps with great strength and with no tools or defacement of the stairs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the PRIOR ART.

FIG. 2 shows the basic system in use.

FIG. 3 shows the side view of the stair step gripper.

FIG. 4 shows another side view of the stair step gripper.

FIG. 5 shows the details of the deep-machined hook-gripping surface.

FIG. 6 shows the top view of a stair edge gripper.

FIG. 7 shows a side view of the mesh net being attached to the stair step edge with the stair edge gripper.

FIG. 8 shows the large mesh.

FIG. 9 shows the method of making and using the stair step gripper.

FIG. 10 shows the method of making and using the wall stair safety system.

FIG. 11 shows the system using the partial net embodiment.

FIG. 12 shows the system using the hybrid net embodiment.

FIG. 13 shows the system using other elements.

FIG. 14 shows the system using a partial net embodiment.

FIG. 15 shows the system using a partial net embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows the PRIOR ART for a toddler stair safety system. The conventional railing 10 is attached to the wall with mounting brackets 12. A toddler railing 14 is shown at a lower height attached to a wall with brackets 16 to allow a toddler to more safely go up and down stairs 18. Such a system is very bulky to ship and transport, requires the use of a tool, and causes damage to a wall.

FIG. 2 shows the system of the instant invention in application. The existing railing 10 is shown over the existing stairs 18. But, in this case, there is a heavy netting of thick material and a large mesh 30 which is pulled down and attached to stair edge grippers 32 and pulled up and attached to the banister (or railing) 10 by stand-alone fasteners 34.

Attachments 32 and 34 are done on a temporary basis, require no tools, and do no damage to the existing surfaces.

FIG. 3 shows a side view of the stair edge gripper 32. The thick duck material or nylon strapping 40 runs the full length of the gripper. Attached underneath is the deep-machined hook fastening surface 42, which is attached to the duck or nylon material 40 by adhesive 46. In an alternative embodiment grommets 44 on each side of the fastener are inserted in the material 40 to allow for the use of a wood screw to attach. This would be used for a case where the stairs are not carpeted. The grommet 50 is mounted just beneath the fold 48 of the main body material. An example of a suitable deep-machined hook fastener is the MVA8 available from the Velcro Fastening Systems of Manchester, N.H. An alternative deep-machined hook surface is the Velcro “extreme” fastener surface strip.

The length of each wing of the stair edge gripper 32 is preferably between 2-4 inches but lengths of 1-10 inches are usable.

FIG. 4 shows an alternative embodiment to the stair edge gripper, which does not require carpeted stairs. In this case the main body material has a double-sided adhesive 46 attached to it and protected for shipping by release liner 52. The grommet assembly is as before. Another example of a suitable material for attaching to non-carpeted areas is 3M® Command™ adhesives.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the machined hook material 42. Note that each hook 60 is in the shape of an upside down “T”. The width 62 of the T section is approximately 20% of the height 64. However, fractions between 10% and 40% will also work. The height of the T is preferably at least 1 mm and preferably about 2 mm. Alternatively, heights between about 0.7 mm and 5 mm will work.

FIG. 6 gives a top view of the stair edge connector 40. Here we see the fold 48 with the main grommet 50 installed in it. Also see the alternative grommets 44 in the top surface. The width of the wings is preferably in the range of 0.6-1.5 inches but widths in the range of 0.4-2.5 inches will also work.

FIG. 7 shows the stair edge gripper 32 being attached to the one-stair edge steps 18 and pulling down the net 30. Here the vertical force of the net is transferred through a hook and loop fastener 70 through the grommet 50 and down through the duck material 40 and into the deep machined hook fastening surface 42. That will maintain great strength in this vertical tension. The horizontal part of the stair edge gripper 32 with this primary body material 40 and deep machined hook 42 is not in tension in this case and will only go into tension when the toddler hand pulls the net in a horizontal direction or because of pre-stresses when the net was first installed. A suitable material for fastener 70 is the Ultra Mate® brand self-fastener available from Velcro USA of Manchester, N.H. preferably in a ⅜″ width.

FIG. 8 shows the net 30 in use. There is an optimal width and height of the mesh. Width 80 and height 82, is about 38 mm or about 1.5″. This is enough room for a toddler's hand 86 to grip across the net. Yet, it is not so large to allow major distortion with the child pulling on the net. Secondly it is large enough so there is no risk of having a child's finger getting caught in the net. The dimension of about 1″ to 2″ is optimal for this mesh. However, dimensions of ¾ to about 3 inches could be used.

These dimensions are critical to proper operation of the invention. Note that the netting “barriers” such as the one by Langan have ¼-½ inch weave (col 2:46) which would not allow even a toddler to get a handgrip or even multiple fingers in the net.

The diameter of the cord in the mesh is also important. If this is too large it will add excessive weight and bulk to the netting as well as fill up too much of the space in the mesh. If it is too small it will tend to cut the child's hand and be uncomfortable and thus discourage its usage. The optimal cord diameter for the net is 3 mm. However, diameters between 2 mm and 4 mm are very usable, and diameters between 1 mm and 5 mm would function for this usage. Diameter 84 is about 3 mm. The child's thumb 88 is also shown going over a horizontal cord of the net. The meshes need not be square but may be triangular, rectangular, hexagonal, or of any irregular polygonal shape.

FIG. 9 shows the method of making and using the stair edge gripper.

First in step 100 the duck or nylon material is cut to shape and size.

Then in step 102 it is folded in half.

In step 104 a hole is punched near the fold.

In step 106 a grommet is attached to the mesh near the fold.

In step 108 a deep-machined hook piece is attached to the underside of this duck material.

In step 110 the installer will rub one flap into the vertical piece of carpet of the stair step.

In step 112 the installer will rub the other flap into the horizontal piece of carpet of the stair step In step 114 the user will run a connector through the grommet to attach to the object of attachment.

FIG. 10 gives a method of manufacturing and using the stair stepper system of the invention.

In step 120 the user will weave a large mesh net using thick cord.

In step 122 the user will cut the hook and loop strips to size and shape for attachment.

In step 124 the user will attach the net to a stair railing or banister with the hook and loop strips; alternatively these could be cable ties. Even knotted string would suffice.

In step 126 the user will tightly attach the bottom of the large mesh net to the existing stair carpet gripper to pull the net down to make it taut to increase the toddler's confidence in the net.

FIG. 11 shows a partial net embodiment in application. The existing railing 10 is shown over the existing stairs 18 as in FIG. 2. But, in this case, the heavy netting of thick material and large mesh 30 does not reach all of the way to the steps but rather stops about 30-50% of the way down to the steps. Having the net go down as far as 20-60% of the way would also be suitable. The net is then pulled down by straps 130 and attached to stair edge grippers 32 and pulled up and attached to the banister 10 by stand-alone fasteners 34. As before, attachments 32 and 34 are done on a temporary basis, require no tools, and do no damage to the existing surfaces. Most importantly, this allows no toehold for toddlers to climb over the railing to face a more serious fall.

This 30-50% of the typical railing height (36 inches by United States building code) gives a net height of 10.8-18 inches. None of this is anticipated by net barriers such as that of Langan who teaches a nominal range of 36-42 inches with a broad range of 26-36 inches (col 3:47-49). The 20-60% range for the net depth in the instant invention translates to a 7.2-21.6 inch depth. The resulting gap would be in the range of 14.4-28.8 inches.

FIG. 12 shows an embodiment of a hybrid net embodiment in application. The existing railing 10 is shown over the existing stairs 18 as in FIG. 2. But, in this case, the heavy netting of thick material and large mesh 30 does not reach all of the way to the steps but rather stops about 30-50% of the way down to the steps. Having the net go down as far as 20-60% of the way would also be suitable. Below the large mesh net is a fine mesh net. The fine mesh net will prevent children from falling through the balusters as before. However, the fine net will not catch toes or shoes and thus will be less likely to allow tripping or climbing. Suitable mesh sizes for the fine mesh net are between 0.25 and 0.5 inches. But, a broader range of fine mesh sizes is also functional including 0.125 and 1.0 inch spacings. And, the horizontal and vertical spacings do not have to be equal. The figure shows the large mesh net connected directly to the fine mesh net but there could be a gap between them. The fine mesh net is then pulled down and attached to stair edge grippers 32. The large mesh net is pulled up and attached to the banister 10 by stand-alone fasteners 34. As before, attachments 32 and 34 are done on a temporary basis, require no tools, and do no damage to the existing surfaces. FIG. 13 shows the system using elements 136 and 138.

FIG. 14 shows an embodiment of the invention attached to a railing or banister 200. In this embodiment, a mesh net 260 is shown having a first edge 263 and a second edge 265. The first edge 263 is connected to the railing 200 via stand-alone fasteners (or connectors) 234. In some embodiments the fasteners 234 are hook and loop style fasteners, for example Velcro®. Fasteners 234 can also comprise cable ties. As seen in FIG. 14, the mesh net 260 freely hangs below the railing 200 without the second edge 265 being engaged to the stairs or any other surface. In some embodiments, the mesh net 260 can extend all the way down to the stairs; alternatively, the mesh net 260 can extend only part way to the stairs, as discussed previously. Also previously discussed, the mesh net may extend 20-60% of the distance, d, shown in FIG. 14.

FIG. 15 shows a further embodiment of the invention attached to a railing or banister 300. A mesh net 360 is shown having a first portion 371 and a second portion 373. The first portion 371 of the mesh net 360 has a first edge 363. The second portion 373 of the mesh net 360 comprises a second edge 365. In some embodiments, the first edge 363 is parallel to the second edge 365. As shown, the second portion 373 of the mesh net 360 is engaged to the first portion 371 by any known method such as tying or strapping. Hook and loop fasteners or adhesive may also be used. Alternatively, the mesh net 360 may be constructed of a single piece of material with two sizes of mesh. The first edge 363 is connected to the railing 300 via stand-alone fasteners (or connectors) 334. In some embodiments the fasteners 334 are hook and loop style fasteners. Or, the fasteners 334 can comprise cable ties.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 15, the first portion 371 comprises a plurality of first openings 381. First openings 381 are between 0.75 inches and 3 inches in size. The second portion 373 of the mesh net 360 comprises a plurality of second openings 383. Second openings are between 0.125 and 0.5 inches. In some embodiments the second openings 383 are square. In some embodiments the first and second openings 381, 383 are square. First and second openings 381, 383 can also be rectangular, circular, polygonal, elliptical, or any combination thereof. First openings 381 are arranged and configured to be grasped by a toddler, while second openings are configured to prevent a toddler from falling through balusters, where the stairway is open. Therefore, first openings 381 are generally smaller than second openings 383. 

1. A safety system for attachment to a stair railing for aiding toddlers, comprising: a mesh net, the mesh net having a first edge and a second edge, the mesh net having a first portion comprising the first edge, the first portion defining a plurality of first openings, the first portion being constructed and arranged to be grasped by a toddler; and a plurality of connectors, each connector being constructed and arranged to engage the first edge of the mesh net and the stair railing wherein the second edge is free from engagement.
 2. The safety system of claim 1, further comprising a second portion, the first portion being engaged to the second portion, the second portion comprising the second edge, the second portion defining a plurality of second openings, the first openings being larger than the second openings.
 3. The safety system of claim 2, further comprising a plurality of stair grippers, each gripper having a vertical engagement surface and a horizontal engagement surface, the stair grippers being attached to the second portion.
 4. The safety system of claim 3 wherein the vertical engagement surface of the stair grippers comprises at least one of double sided adhesive, screws, and deep machined hooks.
 5. The safety system of claim 3, wherein the horizontal engagement surface of the stair grippers comprises at least one of double sided adhesive, screws, and deep machined hooks.
 6. The safety system of claim 1, wherein at least some of the first openings have a dimension between about 0.75-3 inches.
 7. The safety system of claim 2, wherein at least some of the second openings have a dimension between about 0.125-0.5 inches.
 8. The safety system of claim 1, wherein the connectors comprise hook and loop material.
 9. The safety system of claim 1, wherein the first edge is substantially parallel to the second edge.
 10. The safety system of claim 1, wherein the connectors are cable ties.
 11. A safety system for attachment to a stair railing and stairs for aiding toddlers, comprising: a mesh net with a first edge and a second edge, the mesh net being constructed and arranged to be grasped by a toddler; a plurality of stair grippers, each gripper having a vertical engagement surface and a horizontal engagement surface; a plurality of connectors, each connector being constructed and arranged to engage the first edge and the stair railing; and a plurality of straps, each strap being attached to the mesh net and a stair gripper, wherein the stair railing and stairs are separated by a distance d, the mesh net extending from the stair railing between 20-60% of the distance d.
 12. The safety system of claim 11, wherein the first edge is substantially parallel to the second edge.
 13. The safety system of claim 11, wherein there is a distance of 10.8-18 inches between the first edge to the second edge of the mesh net.
 14. The safety system of claim 11, wherein there is a distance of 14.4-28.8 inches between the second edge of the mesh net to the stairs.
 15. The safety system of claim 11, wherein the mesh net defines a plurality of openings, and wherein at least some of the openings have a dimension between about 1-2 inches.
 16. The safety system of claim 11, wherein the net comprises a cord, the cord having a diameter between 1-5 millimeters.
 17. A method of building and using a toddler stair safety system for attachment to a stair railing and stairs for aiding toddlers, comprising: providing a stair railing and stairs being separated by a distance d; providing a mesh net being constructed and arranged to be grasped by a toddler, the mesh net having a first edge and a second edge; providing a plurality of stair grippers having a vertical engagement surface and a horizontal engagement surface; providing a plurality of straps; attaching the straps to the mesh net; attaching the stair grippers to the straps; attaching the first edge of the mesh net to the stair railing with fasteners; and attaching the stair grippers to the stairs, wherein the mesh net extends from the stair railing between 20-60% of the distance d.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein there is a distance of between 7.2-21.6 inches between the first edge and the second edge.
 19. The method of claim 17, further comprising leaving the second edge of the mesh net between 14.4-28.8 inches above the stairs.
 20. The method of claim 17, wherein attaching the first edge of the mesh net to the stair railing is performed with a hook and loop material.
 21. The method of claim 17, wherein attaching the first edge of the mesh net to the stair railing is performed with a plurality of cable ties. 